Name: Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (finely chopped); 1/2 cup Grand Marnièr or similar orange liqueur; 1 cup butter (softened); 1 cup vegetable or canola oil; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 cup powdered sugar; 2 large eggs; 2 tsp. vanilla extract; zest of 1 large orange; 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp. baking soda; 1 tsp. cream of tartar; zest and juice of 1 large orange; 4 tbsp. butter (melted); 4 cups powdered sugar; 1/2 cup dried cranberries (finely chopped, for garnish)

Soft, puffy sugar cookies that melt-in-your-mouth, crammed with dried cranberries and fresh orange peel, these Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies deserve a spot on your holiday cookie trays. These Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies are topped with a thick layer of fresh orange icing and a sprinkling of more cranberries!

Like this Peppermint Bark Cheesecake, I actually made these Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies last year for Christmas, and I socked away the recipe to share this year.

Incidentally, because I’ve made so many Amish Sugar Cookies, I received an email from someone a few weeks ago, and she said that I sure make a lot of Amish recipes – am I Amish? Am I from Pennsylvania?

I am NOT Amish, but I AM from Pennsylvania. Either way, I really don’t have a lot of Amish recipes… it’s just the Amish Sugar Cookies, in fact. But I did share quite a lot of variations recently.

For a few reasons: 1. They’re really versatile. They might be the most versatile cookie I’ve ever encountered. Highly adaptable, and that’s part of their beauty.

They’re also very buttery, soft and puffy, and they truly have a ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ quality. They’re incredibly easy too. You get all the benefits of a cut-out cookie with these Amish Sugar Cookies, but they’re a cinch because they’re a drop cookie.

They’re very popular – both on the blog, and in real life. My family loves them, blog readers love them, and they’re highly-tested and highly-rated on Pinterest. If you go to my Amish Sugar Cookies recipe on Pinterest, there’s a ton of positive comments, and many photos submitted from people who’ve made them.

I love this latest version, these Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies. They feature dried cranberries and orange zest right in the cookie, and then they’re topped with a thick layer of fresh orange icing. A sprinkling of more dried cranberries on top gives a boost to the cranberry component, obviously, but they also look pretty.

Anyway, I have a few other Christmas versions upcoming besides these Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies!

And here’s all the other ones I have currently – it’s a lot. Tis’ the season, after all.

Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies

Sarah

Soft, puffy sugar cookies that melt-in-your-mouth, crammed with dried cranberries and fresh orange peel, these Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies deserve a spot on your holiday cookie trays. These Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies are topped with a thick layer of fresh orange icing and a sprinkling of more cranberries!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 35 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr 20 mins

Course Cookie

Servings 48

Ingredients

For cookies:

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries finely chopped
1/2 cup Grand Marnièr or similar orange liqueur
1 cup butter softened
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
zest of 1 large orange
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar

For icing:

zest and juice of 1 large orange
4 tbsp. butter melted
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries finely chopped, for garnish

Instructions

For cookies:

In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine chopped cranberries and Grand Marnier, tossing to coat.
Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, and microwave an additional 30 seconds. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, oil, and sugars until combined.
Beat in eggs, vanilla, and orange zest.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until just combined. Do not overmix.
Drain cranberries of any remaining liqueur, and pat dry.
Beat cranberries into cookie dough until just combined.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets.
Bake at 375 for 8-11 minutes, or until edges and bottoms are lightly browned.
Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

For icing:

In a medium bowl, whisk together all icing ingredients until smooth. Add additional powdered sugar, if needed, to achieve desired consistency. Icing should be thick, but spreadable, and not run off the cookie!
Spread over cookies, sprinkle with chopped cranberries, and allow to set.

If you love orange cookies, please check out a few other wonderful orange cookies recipes! These Orange Creamsicle Cookies are a loooongtime favorite, and for good reason! I also have these Iced Orange Amish Sugar Cookies, and as you well know by now, that Amish Sugar Cookies are basically the BEST sugar cookies of all time!

My other favorite sugar cookie recipe – I have an original classic version, and these Orange-Glazed Sugar Cookies. Omg, those are amazing too! Such a luxurious cookie.

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